THIS IS AMERICA - California

THIS IS AMERICA - California
By Frank Beardsley

Broadcast: Monday, January 31, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty¹. People have been following a dream to California for more than one hundred fifty years. More than thirty-five million people live there now, more than in any other state. Today we tell about California and its people.

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VOICE ONE:

Over the years, many people have dreamed of going to California. At first, the dream was to find gold. In eighteen forty-eight, a man named James Marshall was working at a sawmill. It was on the American River, about one hundred kilometers northeast of San Francisco. He found a piece of bright metal where the river flowed through the sawmill. It was gold.

People who rushed to California the following year, eighteen forty-nine, became known as "forty-niners." A few found gold and became rich. The people who stayed made homes for themselves. They found work. Some started schools and religious centers. In eighteen fifty California became a state.

VOICE TWO:

 
Bixby Bridge, Pacific Coast Highway
California became the dream of many people in the cold, crowded cities of the East and Middle West. Today, California is still a land of dreams. People want to live there because of the warm weather and sunshine. There are beautiful ocean beaches and mountains. There are jobs in the cities and on farms.

But the weather and the forces of nature in California are sometimes dangerous. For example, earlier this month there were many days of heavy rain in normally dry southern California. Mudslides that resulted killed at least ten people in the Pacific Coast town of La Conchita.

VOICE ONE:

Earthquakes are always a possible threat in California. In nineteen-oh-six an earthquake destroyed the city of San Francisco. It killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people. More recently, a powerful earthquake in nineteen ninety-four shook Southern California. The quake killed about sixty people in the Los Angeles area. It caused twenty thousand million dollars in damage to buildings and roads. Scientists also say a huge and destructive tsunami² wave is possible from the Pacific Ocean.

Yet another problem is fire. Dry winds race across the desert into Southern California in the fall. Any fire can suddenly become a major wildfire.

In October of two thousand three, major wildfires burned across areas of San Diego, Ventura and San Bernardino counties. More than three thousand homes were destroyed. More than twenty people were killed.

VOICE TWO:

But danger from nature does not seem to keep people from moving to California or having children there. The estimated population grew almost five percent between two thousand and two thousand three. About half the population growth is from people who arrive from other states and countries. About eleven million people of Mexican ancestry³ live in California. Many others come from countries in Asia. San Francisco, for example, has one of the largest Chinese populations outside Asia.

Some newcomers dream of Hollywood. They come to find a job in the movie capital of the world. But these young men and women are like the early settlers who searched for gold. Only a few ever become movie stars or successful writers, directors or producers.

VOICE ONE:

 
Gray Davis
Arnold Schwarzenegger, a former Hollywood actor and champion bodybuilder, is finishing his first year as governor of California. He became the state's top official in an unusual way. In October of two thousand three, citizens voted to remove their governor, Gray Davis, a Democrat⁴. To take his place, they elected Mister Schwarzenegger, a Republican. Mister Schwarzenegger was born in Austria. Many Californians call him "Arnold."

Gray Davis had been elected for a second term. But Republicans used a recall law passed almost one hundred years ago to call for a vote to remove him. Many Californians were angry at Mister Davis because he raised taxes.

VOICE TWO:

 
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Many people were especially angry at a big increase in the vehicle tax. Governor Schwarzenegger cancelled that increase as his first official act. California currently has an eight thousand million dollar deficit⁵. The governor is trying to avoid raising taxes. To do this, he is proposing budget cuts. But observers say he will have to compromise with the legislature to pass his legislation. Most legislators are members of the Democratic Party.

VOICE ONE:

Earlier this month, two state officials led a public demonstration⁶. They were protesting against Governor Schwarzenegger for not proposing enough money for schools. His proposal calls for cutting two thousand million dollars in the education budget.

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VOICE TWO:

To educate its young people, California has more state colleges and universities than any other state. The California State University system has more than twenty colleges and universities. The University of California, another system, has schools in nine cities. California also has more than one hundred community colleges. These offer two-year study programs to any student who completes high school.

VOICE ONE:

 
Graphic⁷ Image
Those governing California have a big responsibility for land as well as people. California is America's third largest state in land area. California is more than one thousand kilometers long and four hundred kilometers wide. Mount Whitney, in the Sequoia⁸ National Park, is the highest mountain in the forty-eight connected states. It is more than four thousand four hundred meters high.

California also has the lowest place in the United States. It is in Death Valley National Park, in the eastern desert near the border with Nevada. The place is called Badwater Basin. It is eighty-six meters below sea level. In fact, it is the lowest place anywhere in the Americas.

VOICE TWO:

The coastline of California begins at the border with Mexico. It extends one thousand three hundred fifty kilometers north, to the state of Oregon. The central and southern California coast has many beautiful, sandy beaches. The big waves of the Pacific make these areas great places to surf – to ride on the ocean waves on boards.

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VOICE ONE:

The first Europeans to see the California coast were explorers from Spain and Portugal, almost five centuries ago. The peninsula that extends into Mexico made them think it was an island. In fifteen thirty-nine a member of one sailing party recorded the name as "California." California was the name of an imaginary island in a book, a romance novel that was popular in Spain.

Spain claimed the new land. Later it built religious settlements to spread Christianity among the native people. Mexico won its independence from Spain in the eighteen twenties. But Mexico lost California in a war with the United States about twenty-five years later. Then came the discovery of gold in California.

The state is rich in natural resources. It has wide areas of farmland and large forests. And it has oil, natural gas and valuable minerals.

VOICE TWO:

America's largest city is New York. The second largest city in the nation is Los Angeles, with about four million people. San Diego, on the border with Mexico, is the second largest city in California. It has one million two hundred thousand people. San Jose and San Francisco are the third and fourth largest cities. San Jose is near the so-called Silicon⁹ Valley, home to many high- technology companies.

Many famous Americans were born in California. Here are a few of them: Movie maker¹⁰ George Lucas. Former President Richard Nixon. Poet Robert Frost. Writers Jack¹¹ London and John Steinbeck. Actors Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio. Tennis players Serena and Venus Williams. And golfer Tiger Woods.

The state's beautiful trees and flowers, ocean and mountains, make it very inviting¹² to travelers. Last year, some of the people who came to visit decided¹³ to make their homes there. More than a century and a half has passed since the forty-niners dreamed of gold. But people still dream of life in California.

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VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Frank Beardsley and Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by Caty Weaver¹⁴. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for another THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

6 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

7 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

8 sequoia   

n.红杉

参考例句：

• The sequoia national forest is at the southern end of the sierra nevada range.红杉国家公园位于内华达山脉南端尽头处。
• The photo shows the enormous general Sherman tree in California's sequoia national park.照片显示的是加利福尼亚州红杉国家公园内巨大的谢尔曼将军树。

9 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

10 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

11 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

12 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。